I thank Deputy Collins for raising this question. The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 215 projects have been approved for funding of €395 million for projects costing €542 million across the country. The fund is central to achieving the objectives and key deliverables of Our Rural Future, the Government's five-year policy for rural Ireland. The projects supported by…

I hope to go back to Kinsale shortly to open that new library. I think the project is well on. Bandon has got funding - I think €5 million - for the town centre regeneration. I was in Bandon earlier in the year and met the Deputy's brother Danny down there. He is the cathaoirleach of Cork County Council. We had a great day there. There is a fabulous park in Bandon that we visited. That park was funded through the LEADER programme. I had a good conversation with the local community there. I talked to businesspeople.…

I am looking here at the town and village renewal scheme funding alone, and west Cork has not been doing too badly. I look at Bantry, which got €216,000 on top of RRDF funding. Dunmanway got €96,000. Glengarriff got €100,000 for installing a new riverside walk. I was out on the Beara Peninsula, where they are doing wonderful work on the Beara walk and the equestrian trail. There are a lot of opportunities, but the applications have to be submitted. If they are not, my Department cannot give the projects the money. …

Deputy Stanton has discussed men's and women's sheds with me on many occasions. He is a strong advocate for the great work they do. My Department provides a range of supports which is available to men's and women's sheds. Since 2018, under the community enhancement programme, more than 1,200 men's sheds projects have received funding of over €2 million and 60 women's sheds projects received almost €72,500 in funding. To date, 110 men's sheds have received €174,766 and five women's sheds have received €6,574 in soci…

As the Deputy is aware, I always have to negotiate funding commitments with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform at budget time. The work the men's sheds are doing is invaluable in terms of the network and social support provided. If someone is having a bad day, the best place he can go is up to the men's shed. He will get a good cup of tea and will hear what is happening in the country. The sheds really do people good and I am a big supporter of them. The role they hav…

If sheds are looking for premises, I always encourage them to work with their local authorities. Under the town and village renewal scheme, especially under the building acquisition measure, local authorities have been able to buy buildings in towns and villages, particularly former bank buildings. These buildings usually have a fine big space out the back and there is no reason they cannot be used for multiple purposes. As I said, each shed has its own individual needs. Many of them are renting premises. I have a …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 47 and 64 together. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. Our Rural Future - Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 creates an overarching vision for a thriving rural Ireland which is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being and development. My Department's mission is to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. We do this by delivering a wide range of stra…

I thank Deputies Dillon and Durkan. Both of them are raising the issue of community involvement and I absolutely agree with them because I believe what we need and continue to need is that local ground-up approach. It is about talking to people on the ground about what they need in their community. These applications for town and village are processed through the local authorities and the local authorities have their community section. I know they engage through different fora with communities, whether it is the pu…

I acknowledge what all of the Deputies have said. As they know we have the community centres fund and that was a very successful fund. It was initially a fund of €15 million but the demand was so much that we increased that to more than €40 million in allocations. In fact the applications that came in for that particular fund were for more than €70 million. A lot of the applications were actually for energy efficiency projects, such as replacing the heat system in community halls. That gives an indication of the co…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 62 together. I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this matter. On 24 January I launched the €50 million community recognition fund which aims to support the development of community infrastructure and facilities in recognition of the contribution being made by communities across the country in welcoming and hosting significant numbers of arrivals from Ukraine and other countries. This funding is specifically targeted at projects that are located in communities, towns and villag…

This is a €50 million fund. It is separate in its objectives and scope from any other public funding streams which aim to support the development of public service needs arising from the significant number of arrivals from Ukraine. The funding is specifically targeted at projects located in communities, towns and villages that are hosting the beneficiaries of temporary protection or international protection applicants, or both, including towns identified for the rapid-build homes programme. It is set to benefit the…

I thank Deputy Kerrane. The chairs of the community response forums will be the liaison persons and the point of contact for communities that want to engage. I encourage them to engage with the local councillors as well because they will be aware of this funding that has come into the county. In regard to Roscommon County Council, under this specific fund, it has been allocated €689,057, so it will be able to do some good work with that allocation of funding. Some counties have received a great deal more. Donegal h…

I thank the Deputy. He is dead right. This is a good example of how we can have real and meaningful community engagement that delivers for people. Deputy Kerrane mentioned Ballaghaderreen. The local development company is providing support to the direct provision centre there. In fairness, these local development companies have done good work throughout the country. In my constituency, the local development company has engaged in Cavan in particular. There is a good example there of how Syrians integrated when they…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As she is aware, Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of pier infrastructure on the Aran Islands. A steering committee consisting of representatives from my Department and Galway County Council meets regularly to monitor progress on the development of the piers on the Aran Islands and held its most recent meeting earlier this week. Regarding Inis Meáin, Galway County Council is responsible for the development of stage 3 of…

I thank the Deputy. She is correct. Plans for phase 3 of the Caladh Mór pier in Inis Meáin were initially drafted in 2009. They involved an extension to the breakwater and the dredging of a substantial section of the harbour. The project then stalled. In 2019, Galway County Council began to amend the draft business case, in line with the public spending code, based on a template supplied by the Department. Following further discussions with ferry operators in 2019, it was discovered by Galway County Council that th…

I do my best.

All I can say is Galway County Council is doing the business plan. It knows the steps under the public service code. As I understand it, based on the findings of the simulation, some changes may have to be made to the feasibility study. That is my understanding of it and I want to see this moved on. It is in the national development plan, NDP, the money will be provided when the plans come in and there is a commitment there to do it. I sometimes wish I could do these jobs myself, but I cannot. The Department cannot…

I welcome the opportunity to speak and outline the work of my Departments. As of this week, the Department of Social Protection has issued 74,458 PPS numbers to people who have arrived here fleeing the war in Ukraine. To put that in context, it is the equivalent of the entire population of County Cavan arriving into the country. The challenge of supporting that huge influx of people in a short space of time is immense. As both Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development, my Departments have p…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann:" and substitute the following: "acknowledges that this Government has, since its formation in 2020, provided unprecedented supports to protect people and families, first through the Covid-19 pandemic and now through the increase in the cost-of-living, including: — a €9.2 billion Pandemic Unemployment Payment support scheme and a further €9.2 billion on Employment Wage Subsidy Schemes to protect workers and families during the Covid-19 pandemic; — a €2…

We know that. That has long been the party's policy. It wants to tax the working man and woman into oblivion. This Government takes a different approach. We want to support ordinary working people and their families. That is why we had a double payment of child benefit and why we brought in three universal energy credits so that families can get €600 off their energy bills. It is why we have reduced income tax. It is why we have reduced childcare costs by 25%. It is why we have reduced school transport costs and th…